A 100-loss season tends to expose just about everything, and the Angels are heading into 2027 with plenty to sort through. Outfield help, catching depth, and bullpen reinforcements will all sit near the top of the winter to-do list. But there’s another question that could shake up a spot that has been mostly settled: first base.
Nolan Schanuel has held down the job for three full seasons since making his debut at the end of 2023, only a couple of months after the Angels took him in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He’s coming off his strongest year yet, finishing with a 2.1 bWAR and a .276/.351/.385 slash line.
On paper, that’s useful production. In practice, the fit is a little more complicated.
Schanuel has the body of the kind of first baseman teams usually dream about. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, he looks built for damage.
The problem is that his game doesn’t match the traditional first-base blueprint. That position usually comes with thunder - home runs, extra-base hits, the sort of bat that makes pitchers sweat.
Schanuel’s .736 OPS is better than league average, but it doesn’t give the Angels that classic middle-of-the-order punch.
The power shortage is the obvious issue. Schanuel has never topped 13 home runs in a season, and in 2026 he managed just seven in 107 games. Among first basemen who played at least 105 games this season, no one had fewer homers.
What Schanuel does bring is contact. He hit .276, second-best on the Angels this season, and he kept his strikeout rate down to 13%, which is elite.
He doesn’t chase much, either. The trouble is that all of that bat-to-ball skill hasn’t translated into impact.
His 2.4% barrel rate and weak bat speed help explain why the ball doesn’t leave the bat with much authority, and why his hard-hit percentage lags.
He’s only 24, so the door isn’t closed on more power showing up later. Still, that feels more like hope than a real expectation right now. It’s also fair to wonder whether the Angels pushed him to the majors so quickly that he never got enough minor-league time to fully build out that part of his game.
That doesn’t mean Schanuel has no value. He’s a positive offensive player overall, just not the kind of first baseman most teams envision when they picture the position. The Angels can live with that for now, but they shouldn’t rule out looking for an upgrade at first base for 2027 and beyond.
If they do shop for alternatives, the free-agent market could offer a few names that fit the traditional profile better, including Jake Bauers, Yandy Diaz, and Ty France. First base may not be the Angels’ most urgent offseason need, but with only three more years of team control left on Schanuel, it’s a conversation they’ll have to start having soon.
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